CiMeC, Centre for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Corso Bettini 31, 38068 Rovereto, Italy.
Behav Brain Res. 2010 Jun 19;209(2):221-5. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2010.01.046. Epub 2010 Feb 4.
Lateralization, i.e., the different functional specialisation of the left and right side of the brain, has been documented in many vertebrate species and, recently, in invertebrate species as well. In the Honeybee, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera Apidae), it has been shown that short-term (<1h) recall of olfactory memories would be possible mainly from the right rather than from the left antenna. Here we confirmed this finding showing that recall of the olfactory memory 1h after training to associate (-)-linalool, a floral volatile compound, with a sugar reward, as revealed by the bee extending its proboscis when presented with the trained odour, was better when the odour was presented to the right rather than to the left antenna. We then measured the number of sensilla present on the left and right antenna by scanning electron microscopy. Results showed that putative olfactory sensilla (placodea, trichodea, basiconica) were significantly more abundant on the right antenna surface than on the left antenna surface, whereas sensilla not involved in olfaction (campaniformia, coeloconica and chaetica) tended to be more abundant on the left than on the right antenna surface.
偏侧性，即大脑左、右两侧的不同功能特化，在许多脊椎动物物种中已有记载，最近在无脊椎动物物种中也有记载。在蜜蜂（膜翅目 Apidae 科）中，已经表明短期（<1 小时）回忆嗅觉记忆主要来自右侧而不是左侧触角。在这里，我们通过实验确认了这一发现，即当向蜜蜂呈现经过训练的气味时，蜜蜂会伸出它的喙，表明它在 1 小时后回忆起了与糖奖励相关的 (-)-芳樟醇（一种花香挥发性化合物）的嗅觉记忆，当气味被呈现到右侧触角而不是左侧触角时，回忆效果更好。然后，我们通过扫描电子显微镜测量了左右触角上存在的感觉器数量。结果表明，在右侧触角表面上存在的感觉器（板状感觉器、毛状感觉器、锥形感觉器）明显多于左侧触角表面上的感觉器，而不参与嗅觉的感觉器（杯状感觉器、腔锥形感觉器和刺状感觉器）则倾向于在左侧触角表面上比右侧触角表面上更丰富。
